Amid widespread complaints about the cost of tickets and transportation related to World Cup games, FIFA announced Tuesday that it will hike the money received by all 48 teams participating this summer by 15%.
The national teams competing in the event in the United States, Mexico and Canada will see their preparation money rise from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. Qualification compensation goes from $9 million to $10 million, and contributions toward team delegation expenses and increased ticket allotments will go up more than $16 million.
Remaining additional income that FIFA receives will be split among all 211 national federations.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement, “FIFA is proud to be in its most solid financial position ever, enabling us to help all our Member Associations in an unprecedented way. This is one more example of how FIFA’s resources are reinvested back into the game.”
The financial boosts were among the items to come out of a FIFA Council meeting ahead of the FIFA Congress scheduled for Thursday in Vancouver.
Among the other matters announced by FIFA:
–At this year’s World Cup, players who exit the pitch in a dispute over a decision by a referee could be given a red card. Also, players who cover their mouths “in a confrontational situation with an opponent” could be subjected to a red card.
The latter item appears to be a direct consequence of an incident in a UEFA Champions League game in February, where Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior stated that Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni made a racist statement to him. The situation was difficult to judge because Prestianni pulled his shirt over his mouth before saying something, and he later denied that he said anything racist.
–As a consequence of the World Cup expanding from 32 teams to 48 teams and adding an extra knockout round, FIFA is adjusting the cutoff point at which players who receive a second yellow card would receive an automatic one-match suspension. Single yellow cards will now be wiped out after the group stage and again after the quarterfinals.
–The Afghan Women’s Refugee Team will be permitted into FIFA competitions.
–The final stage of the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, scheduled for Jan. 27-31, was awarded to Miami. The competition features the six club teams that win their continental championships.
–The dates of the 2027 CONCACAF Gold Cup were set as June 19-July 11.
(Reuters)
